The Pushkar Fair, also called the Pushkar Camel Fair or locally as Kartik Mela or Pushkar ka Mela is an annual multi-day livestock fair and cultural
fête
In Britain and some of its former colonies, fêtes are traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments.
Village fêtes
Village f ...
held in the town of
Pushkar
Pushkar is a city and headquarters of Pushkar tehsil in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated about northwest of Ajmer and about southwest of Jaipur.Ajmer city in Ajmer district in (
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
). The fair starts with the
Hindu calendar
The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...
month of Kartik and ends on the Kartik Purnima, which typically overlaps with late October and early November in the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
. In 1998, over 1 million visitors came to
Pushkar
Pushkar is a city and headquarters of Pushkar tehsil in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated about northwest of Ajmer and about southwest of Jaipur. The Pushkar fair alone attracts over 200,000 visitors.
The Pushkar fair is one of India's largest camel, horse and cattle fairs. Apart from the trading of livestock, it is an important pilgrimage season for Hindus to the Pushkar lake. Pushkar fair has also become a significant tourist attraction for domestic and international travellers, given the cooler season, the abundance of colourful cultural themes. Cultural events and competitions include dances, tug of war between women teams as well as men teams, the "''matka phod''", "longest moustache" competition, "bridal competition", camel races and others.
Thousands of people go to the banks of the
Pushkar Lake
Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar is located in the town of Pushkar near Ajmer city in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake of the Hindus. The Hindu scriptures describe it as " Tirtha-Guru" hirt ...
where the fair takes place. Men trade their livestock, which includes camels, horses, cows, sheep and goats.Pushkar
The Imperial Gazetteer of India
''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...
, 1909, v. 21, ''p. 1.'' Rural families shop at the handicraft stalls full of bracelets, clothes, textiles and fabrics. A camel race starts off the festival, with music, songs and exhibitions to follow. Between these events, the most waited for is the test of how the camel is able to bring the items. In order to demonstrate, the men go up on the group of camels one after another.
Pushkar is in centre-east part of Rajasthan, on the western side of Aravalli mountains. The nearest airport from Pushkar is
Kishangarh Airport
Kishangarh Airport, Ajmer is a regional airport situated at Kishangarh on National Highway 8, 27 km North-East of Ajmer in Rajasthan, India. The airport was inaugurated on 11 October 2017. It is operated by the Airports Authority of Indi ...
in
Ajmer
Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...
, about northeast. Jaipur is well connected with all the major cities in India. Pushkar is about from
Ajmer
Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...
, connected via Pushkar road (Highway 58) which goes over the
Aravalli Range
The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in Northern-Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana, Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad Gujarat. ...
mountains. Ajmer is also the nearest major railway STATION
See also
*
Sonepur Cattle Fair
Sonepur Cattle Fair ( hi, सोनपुर पशु मेला) is held on Kartik Poornima (the full moon day) over the months of November and December in Sonepur, Bihar, on the confluence of river Ganges(Gandak). It is also known as Harih ...